A 15-year-old daughter of a New Jersey anti-violence activist who was missing for nearly a month has been found dead, according to authorities.
Sanaa Amenhotep went missing April 5 in Columbia, South Carolina, and law enforcement officials announced Thursday that she had been and kidnapped and murdered. She is the daughter of Sharif Malik Amenhotep, the Vice-Chair of the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition and a member of the New Black Panther Party.
Amenhotep's body was found in a wooded area in Lexington County, local NBC affiliate WISTV reported, and investigators say she had been there for weeks.
One person has been arrested and authorities are searching for another suspect.
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Confirming his daughter's death on Instagram, Amenhotep said she was his whole world.
"My whole world my heart my everything gone from this physical realm onto the Ancestors I’m destroyed for life," he wrote.
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In a statement, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka expressed condolences to the Amenhotep family for the tragic loss.
“Mr. Amenhotep works tirelessly to increase justice and reduce violence in our neighborhoods through our Brick City Peace Collective, helping us to re-imagine public safety and prevent tragedies such as this from taking place in our very own community," Baraka said.
“No parent should ever have to bury their child. It is an inexplicable loss that defies imagination."
